The Iranian men’s soccer team’s quick departure from Los Angeles following its opening World Cup match was always the plan, according to the US government, despite complaints from the team.

Complaints from the Team

Iran’s coach and players made it clear they were upset with having to fly back to their training base in Tijuana, Mexico, late on Monday night following a 2-2 draw with New Zealand. Coach Amir Ghalenoei said his team expected to spend the night in California before flying back to Tijuana, but were told to get on a plane immediately after the game.

“They didn’t even give us time to recover,” Ghalenoei said. “After the game today, they said to us, ‘You have to leave immediately.’ It’s very important for us to have time for recovery, (but) we are asked to get on a plane and return to our camp in Tijuana, and we are really troubled by that.”

US Government Response

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told CNN that the Iranians agreed to those terms. In an interview that CBS News aired Monday, Andrew Giuliani, the executive director of the task force, said the team would depart “the evening of the match.”

The team’s preparation for the tournament has been difficult due to the armed conflict between Iran and the US. The team had to relocate their training base from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana, and they have faced visa issues and travel bans.

Despite the challenges, the team will play their three group games in the US as scheduled. The US government says the plan may have always been for the Iranians to return to Tijuana directly after the match, but it appears the team itself was caught off-guard.

Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.